Chad

Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. The former French colony is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon to the southwest, Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west. It has a land mass of 1,284,000km², a population of 21million and GDP of US$14.6bn. Its currency is the Central African Franc.

In 2021 Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno seized power and declared himself head of the Transitional Military Council following the sudden death of his father Idriss Déby Itno, president since 1990. Security forces used excessive force, including live ammunition and tear gas, to disperse opposition-led demonstrations across the country, and arbitrarily arrested demonstrators, many of whom reported torture and other ill-treatment in detention. The conclusions of the inclusive and sovereign national dialogue held in 2022 extended the political transition by two years. Sworn in as transitional president on October 10, General Mahamat Déby Itno formed a national unity government on October 14. Following the constitutional referendum of December 27, 2023, a presidential election was held on May 6, 2024, marking a return to constitutional order. At the conclusion of this election, Mahamat Idriss Déby was elected with 61% of the vote, according to the Constitutional Council.

Chad has sizable reserves of crude oil which, alongside agriculture, makes up the largest share of export revenue. Since joining the list of oil-producing countries in 2003, its economy has been heavily dependent on oil. The country’s previously agrarian economy saw per capita GDP grow from about US$497 in 2001/02 (which was less than half of the average in sub-Saharan Africa) to almost US$823 in 2017. Chad also has deposits of gold as well as uranium, titanium, and bauxite. About 300,000 artisanal and small-scale miners are active, producing mostly gold.

Economic growth is projected to be 5.3% in 2025, driven by the buoyant oil sector. On the demand side, growth drivers are investment and exports. Inflation could fall to 3.2% in 2025, remaining above the ECCAS target of 3%. The budget balance is projected to be in surplus of 2.2% in 2025.


Sources: Who Owns Whom sector reports, CIA Factbook, African Development Bank, World Bank, Trading Economics, African Statistical Yearbook and IMF. ?>